The present invention relates generally to the dispensing of ground coffee. More particularly, the present invention relates to a friction activated dispenser for ground coffee.
Coffee makers of the prior art utilize a set amount of ground coffee to brew a particular cup or pot. Single serve coffee makers of the prior art utilize pod systems with a set amount of ground coffee within the pod to brew the single cup. Due to environmental and economic concerns, reusable pods were created such that a user could add their own custom ground coffee and not have to settle for the prepacked disposable units. Issues with the reusable pods include getting the perfect amount of grounds into the pod for use with a compatible machine. In the prior art, the user would have to scoop out pre-ground coffee and place it into a filter or reusable pod and try to get the appropriate amount of coffee in the pod without going over and without spilling everywhere. The user would also have issues getting all of the coffee grounds out of a particular container with the scoop based on the shape of the scoop and the shape of the container.
The prior art attempts to remedy the problems created in storing coffee beans and ground coffee to be later dispensed to create the perfect cup of coffee. In the prior art, coffee dispensers stored beans in a reservoir that is mounted on top of a grinder. Gravity would pull the beans down the reservoir into the grinder and when the grinder was activated the device would dispense grounds into a coffee maker, a filter, or an additional reservoir to be used later in time. These devices are efficient for dispensing grounds from beans because the physical characteristics of the beans allow the beans to be funneled through the reservoir into the grinder unburdened.
Ground coffee dispensers in the prior art that use a reservoir to store and dispense pre-ground coffee face added complications due to the granulated nature of the coffee grounds. The granulated nature of the coffee grounds causes the coffee grounds to clump together and prevents the smooth flow of grounds outside of the reservoir. Prior art inventions have attempted to remedy this issue by adding stirs or tampers to break up the clumps to promote flow of the ground coffee.
The present invention addresses the issue of flow of granulated grounds out of a reservoir by friction activating the ground coffee. The invention also provides for a coffee ground dispenser with the ability to dispense a pre-measured amount of coffee grounds into a reusable pod, coffee filter, espresso portafilter or similar receptacle.